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Ardechia
Geography: Ardechia is a Human kingdom on the western shore of northern Kesadahttps://triech.fandom.com/#Kesada:. Much of its territory is covered with wide open fields separated by densely forested hills. It is a northern country, much of its forests include or are dominated by pine trees, with bears and frost wolves being fairly common. From the Blue Mountains in the east, two main rivers flow down through Ardechia and in to the Archaic sea in the west. The northern river is named Staya, on which the Ardechian capital of Starigrad is situated. Staya flows to the lowlands where Starigrad is located and widens in to a series of lakes and marshlands. The southern river named Bela is host to three major strategic and commercial cities: the Ardechian cities of Beligrad, which is built on both sides of the river, Novigrad on its northern bank, where the river widens in to a lake, and the independant city-state of Viziya on its southern bank at its river mouth. Religion: The Old Gods: In ages past, the Ardechians shared a common pantheon with their cousins in Kyrus across the Blue mountains, their faith was largely connected to life, natural processes and events such as lightning, earthquakes, and the passing of seasons, as well as cosmic anomalies, all had their own patron deity. This faith still exists today in Kyrus, and is known as the Slaveni Bogovi, which roughly translates to The Gods that understand. The Conversion: As time past, the Ardechians found themselves slowly being converted to the Light of the Holy Fire faith of their southern neighbours, who saw the Ardechians as misguided children who require their guidance in to the light, or in some extreme cases, uncivilised barbarians akin to the Norse that need to be dealt with. The Ardechians stubbornly opposed this foreign religion at first, but at the time when the Aquileyan Empire was at the height of its power, and the Ardechians had lost two previous wars against them, loosing almost a forth of their lands as well as the city of Viziya, their leadership decided to secure peace with the southerners for their independence, and the future of their people. With the marriage of the Ardechian ruler, King Radovid Dragutin the 2nd and the Aquileyan princess Lavinia, the king officially converted to the church of The Light of the Holy Fire, and establishing a pact between the two nations. With many of his loyal vassals following suit, this spelled the end of the influence of the Slaveni Bogovi in Ardechia. Present day: All though the royal family and its major vassals have converted to the Light of the Holy Fire, many minor vassals, and even some major ones in the northern part of the realm, have refused to convert to the new state religion, instead sticking to the old faith and their traditions. It is mostly the city folk who have so passionately thrown their old faith away for the new one, while the people of the country side still remember their roots and cling to their old traditions and practices. Culture: Even though the majority of the Ardechian population follows the Light of the Holy Fire, many of its holidays and traditions that they have are remnants of their old Slaveni Bogovi practices, such as celebrating the winter solstice and welcoming a new cycle of seasons to the world. The Kurenti in early spring, where people dress in scary furry outfits with horns and bells and are seen hopping around in groups in an attempt to scare off winter and bring spring as the crowd cheers them on. Or the Zeleni Yure in late summer, which is a man put in to a shrub outfit, usually an elder of the town, which goes from door to door with his entourage collecting donations. It is tradition to always gift Zeleni Yure some of your spoils from this year, be it crops or craft, to signify that you are willing to sacrifice something of your own from this years spoils, so that the next year might bring fortune as well. Ardechia being a northern realm, the people are known for their warm clothing. Their furry coats and fluffy hats are distinct, and are as diverse as the furry wildlife found in the region. They also enjoy strong drinks that can warm them up, like their famous Rakiya, Smrekovec, or Kyrusian Vodka. The common man mostly dwells in buildings built from what they have most of, wood. Wooden cottages are the standard for Ardechian hamlets and villages, while city houses only have their base and bottom walls built from stone. Buildings like churches, libraries, and royal castles or palaces have an obvious southern influence, with their hanging gardens, fountains, plazas with ornate pillars, and spiral domed roofs. Government: Ardechia's government is the traditional feudal system of governance. At the top of the pyramid of power sits the king, and each level below him are ever lower tiered vassals which govern the lands, collect taxes and supplies on his behalf, and provide him with levies. The King is known as the Knyez, and is the absolute ruler of the realm. Under him are his vassals, each sporting the title of Voyvoda. Each Voyvoda relies on a Zhupan to administer the towns within his Voyvodina. Vast lands and even settlements may be owned by a single wealthy and influential family, the head of which is referred to as a Gospodin, and is most often than not granted a seat on the Voyvoda's council due to his status and importance to the area. Gender laws in Ardechia include the Agnatic-Cognatic succession law, which means women can inherit, but only if there are no eligible males. Religious laws dictated by the Light of the Holy Fire demand all magic users to use their abilities to aid man kind in every way possible. In most instances, this means to serve state. All mages who rebel against this are declared apostates and are treated as threats to humanity, and are hunted down to be executed by the Warden Order. Ardechia is currently a proud member of the Northern Alliancehttps://triech.fandom.com/wiki/The_Northern_Alliance and is in relative peace with most of its neighbours. The Ardechian flag is a white eagle in flight in the centre on a blood red plain with its wings open wide to both the left and right side of the flag, with its head turned to its right side. Its legs are outstretched, plainly showing its sharp talons.